


Want you more than a melody

by softfonds



Series: Two Become One [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Football | Soccer Player Louis Tomlinson, M/M, Mpreg Harry, Popstar Harry Styles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softfonds/pseuds/softfonds
Summary: It's 2016, and Harry's life couldn't be better. His band is about to release their third studio album, he's dating the hottest football star on the planet, and tour is going to start the following year. But one trip to the doctor's office changes all his plans for the future, and he wonders if Louis is ready for it as well.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Series: Two Become One [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887343
Comments: 23
Kudos: 262





	Want you more than a melody

**Author's Note:**

> You know when you need to write a mini fic while writing a massive one? That is what this one turned out to be lol so enjoy this fluff. Based on PoshBecks :)

“Love,” Louis murmured as he raised his head off the pillow. “Where you going?”

As he walked out of their walk-in closet after getting one of Louis’ soft hoodies from a hanger, Harry looked over to his sleeping boyfriend, hair ruffled so softly with one eye open, his morning scruff already coming in, tattoos peeking out on his arm from under the duvet. Louis wasn’t one for tattoos when they started dating, but once Harry mentioned that he thought couple tattoos were cool, Louis booked them a joint appointment to get inked. Now a ship and compass sat each on their arms, complementing the other. The sun was just starting to shine through the bamboo blinds, almost reaching the rumbled covers.

“Doctors remember,” Harry smiled as he went to sit at the end of the four poster bed, leaning against the wood. He had on a simple grey tank top that had pink penis art printed on the front, but with the colder early October weather coming in, he knew he needed that hoodie to keep warm on his walk there. “I have the first slot for the day.” For the past two weeks, he’s been nauseous at the most random times – like while on a run, or shopping for candles, or just watching a movie on the telly - and just throwing up at certain smells. Louis cooked one of Harry’s favorite meals – fajitas – one night and he ended up hurling in the sink when he got a whiff of it. Two nights ago, he was dipping a pickle in strawberry yogurt and happily eating it while Louis watched in horror. _“You threw up at my cooking, but this you can eat?”_ Harry just shrugged sheepishly while Louis climbed in next to him on the couch. And after Harry couldn’t keep down Louis’ famous potato soup, that’s when his boyfriend had enough and made him get an appointment..

“Ah,” Louis yawned as he sat up, the covers pooling around his lap. “That stomach bug. I hope they find out what’s wrong, love. Want you better already,” he said in that scratchy early morning voice Harry had come to adore.

“So do I,” Harry answered as he pulled a red scrunchie out of his pocket, taking his long hair back and putting it into a bun. He heard Louis groan once he finished. “What?” he frowned. “Something hurt?” He didn’t want to think he’d have to take his boyfriend to the doctor as well.

“You can’t do that this early, babe,” Louis said as he leaned back on his forearms, looking all disheveled with his hair going in all directions.

Harry blinked in confusion. “What?”

“You know,” Louis sighed, blue eyes pleading.

“Are you sure you’re not sleep talking, Lou?” He literally had no idea what the man was talking about.

“I told you already,” he groaned again. “About your bun. At that party in April. We were drinking those fruit cocktails and you were putting your hair in a bun and I had to whisper in your ear in front of all those people.”

Harry remembered the first cocktail, but not much after it. Besides Louis kissing him throughout the night, which is all he usually remembered when he’s had too much to drink. But his bun? Louis didn’t like his bun? Did he want him to cut his hair? No. He wouldn’t cut his hair even if Louis wanted him to. He liked his hair and had worked hard to grow it. “Louis,” he said, trying not to sound hurt. “I think I’d remember if you told me you didn’t like my bun.”

“Didn’t like it?” he sat up again, throwing off the covers. “Does _this_ look like I don’t like your bun?”

Harry’s eyes zeroed into the other man’s lap, seeing just how stiff he was in his pants, with a wet spot already soaking the red fabric. See, after spending many a morning wood with Louis for almost two years at this point, Harry knew just how that felt: semi hard by itself until Harry rubbed some part of his body against it; more often than not his bum. But seeing him leaking untouched… just made his mouth water.

“You- You get hot over my bun then?” Was that even a kink? Not that Harry would judge. He wouldn’t mind having his cum in his hair if that’s what Louis wanted. They were always willing to satisfy each other’s kinks.

“No,” Louis groaned again, dragging his hand over his face. He mumbled something into his hand which Harry couldn’t hear.

“What?”

Louis sighed. “You put your hair into a bun right before you suck me. Not every single time but when you’re… being a little minx, you do that. Get that smug smile on your face while you tie your hair up and then just deep throat like it’s your last meal.”

Well Harry’s lack of a gag reflex did come in handy. “So…”

“So,” he stressed, giving him a sheepish smile. “My knob thinks you’re about to suck every time you put your hair up.”

Oh. Oh. “So that’s why you’re so…” Harry trailed off, eyes not leaving the awfully hard cock in front of him. But he couldn’t help getting out a giggle over the situation. He must’ve put his hair up a lot before going down on him, and he didn’t even realize it until Louis’ own cock decided to get hard to the simple gesture.

“Yeah,” Louis huffed with a smile. “The things you do to me, Haz. You’re so beautiful, in every way.”

Harry licked his lips as he continued to stare at his lap. He still couldn’t believe he was dating the literal fittest man in all of England and got to see him like this every day. “I guess it’s only right that I help out your big problem?” he asked sweetly, trying not to smile.

“If you would be so kind, love,” Louis said airily.

Harry quickly got on all fours and crawled towards him, settling between his legs. Louis groaned as he pushed down his pants, freeing his cock as Harry started to suck hard at the tip. He knew how sensitive it was, and getting to know Louis’ body very well since their relationship began was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. They knew exactly what to do to get a certain noise out of the other, what parts of their skin were the most sensitive, what made their eyes roll back in pleasure. Not wanting to be late for his appointment, he used all those learned movements to get him off quick, loving the salty taste on his tongue while enjoying the moans coming from above as he licked and sucked up and down the shaft. Still not touching the hot skin with his hands, he laid his tongue flat against the underside of the head, looking up at him through his eyelashes as he licked up the gooey precum spurting out.

“Such a minx,” Louis moaned out. “Absolutely filthy.”

Harry smiled as he placed a deep kiss at the head, and without warning just swallowed him whole, tears already prickling his eyes as his cock hit the back of his throat. But he had always loved the feeling of choking on his man’s dick, so he didn’t let that stop him. So he let himself moan and make the most obscene slurping sounds with his mouth. He knew Louis loved to hear him.

Once Louis couldn’t keep his groans to himself, Harry started to slowly rub his thighs until his fingers journeyed lower and started feeling him over the fabric of his pants. Knowing he wanted the cum just on his tongue, Harry slowly made his way back up until only his wet lips touched him.

“What are you – oh fuck, Haz!”

Harry found his hole through the fabric and gently pressed against the entrance, and that had Louis coming all over his tongue with a deep groan. Making sure he milked him to the last drop, he also made sure Louis was looking at him while he showed him his tongue full of his spunk, then closed his mouth as he swallowed with a smirk.

“You’re just pure filth, baby,” Louis moaned as he fell back onto the bed. “Just amazing.”

“I’m glad,” Harry said hoarsely with a cough, trying to make sure his voice came back, “this was satisfying.”

“Way more than that, babe,” Louis muttered as he continued to take deep breaths. “So much more.” He opened one eye. "Don’t you need a hand?"

Harry shook his head. "Later," he said as he got off the bed. "Or else I'm never going to know what kind of stomach bug this is."

And Louis was right, because as Harry left their home while his boyfriend was happily satiated in their bed and probably going back to sleep, he did have a smug grin on his face. He liked knowing that he was the only person in the world that got to do that to Louis, and he planned to keep it that way for the rest of their lives.

✧

As Harry sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office, his knee jiggling as he bit his thumb nail, he saw a text pop up on his phone.

 **Louis:** _Think the doctor will know you swallowed my load not even an hour ago? Hope not ;)_

He rolled his eyes as he laughed, sending back a series of emojis that told him to go back to sleep. At least wearing Louis' hoodie - one that had the Man U logo on it - felt very comforting before he had to go in. Since it looked like no one was going to call him inside for a while, he decided to go through his audio tracks with demos from his band’s upcoming album. Orion was going to be Odyssey Moon’s third studio album, and since Harry started dating the love of his life between the second album and this one, that meant he got to write a few songs about Louis. He wrote some others, but he decided to keep them for himself since they were too personal. Like the one he still had no name for, but just kept singing “shine!” over and over in his head.

With his headphones in, he tapped on the song titled “volume 6”, the opening lyrics beginning: _“sunflower, sunflower, my eyes, want you more than a melody, let me inside, wish I could get to know you”_ then Liam comes in to sing the pre-chorus. It gets to his favorite part where Zayn sings the chorus, smiling as he hears _“kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dancefloor”_. Niall gets to sing the second verse, and then Harry can sing the following chorus. _“Kids in the kitchen listen to dancehall”_

He wrote that song about a year ago, while Louis was in Germany for a game and Harry had to stay behind for a studio session. He had scribbled some lyrics in his journal a few weeks before, a page of doodles of sunflowers with words from the song adorning them. He knew it was early – way too early at that point – to think about having children with Louis, but just a few months with him was enough to make him decide Louis was going to be the father of his children. And this time he knew with absolute certainty, unlike his schoolboy crush he had on him before they met where he still would’ve birthed his babies. So he thought of those kisses they shared while they were cooking, still getting to know each other and mapping out their bodies in the process. It made him think of their future kids getting to grow from that very love, and he knew he had to write a song about it.

With the help of Liam, he fleshed out the complete lyrics together, and Harry almost cried when they did a run through with everyone singing their verses.

“Mr. Styles?” a nurse called out as her eyes landed on him once she walked into the room. “We’re ready for you now.”

Harry looked up with wide eyes, shaken from his daydream. He followed her into the back, weaving through the hallways until they reached a room and she asked him to strip out of his clothes and put on a hospital gown. He waited silently with just his socks on until the doctor came into the room a few minutes later.

“Hello, Harry!” she said. “How wonderful to see you again.”

“Hello, Doctor James,” he smiled. “How are you?”

“Flu season is around the corner so I am not looking forward to that,” she laughed. “But let’s get into what you’re here for today. What seems to be the problem, Harry?”

“I think I have a bad stomach bug,” he explained. “I know I get sick around this time, but this one has just lasted for like two weeks at this point. I keep throwing up my favorite foods or the food I can keep down is some of the weirdest I’ve ever tried yet I still love it.”

“I see,” she nodded. “And you want to make sure it’s nothing more serious?”

Harry nodded. If he had something that needed some antibiotics, he wanted that in him as soon as possible. He hated the fact that he couldn’t even eat what Louis gave him, and that needed to change fast.

“Alright then,” she said as she clicked her pen, looking down at her clipboard. “We’re going to do some blood work and see if that points to anything. But I need to ask you some routine questions first.”

“Okay,” he coughed.

“Are you sexually active?”

Harry felt his cheeks flush as he frowned, remembering what he just did that morning. “Yeah? I have a boyfriend.”

“Okay. Have you been taking birth control?”

“I used to get shots,” Harry said. “But I stopped over a year ago I think. Don’t remember why.” In reality he just forgot to set up the appointments after he had missed a few, and kept forgetting for months after that.

“I see. Do you wear condoms?”

Harry nodded. “Almost all the time. But we’re exclusive, so there’s no need for it disease wise.” Even though that still seemed dumb to say to a doctor, he knew Louis wasn't seeing anyone else. He had full confidence in that.

“Harry,” she said as she took off her reading glasses. “Have you considered that you’re possibly pregnant?”

His eyes went wide. No. He had not considered that. It wasn’t even at the forefront of his mind when he was thinking of his stomach bug. But suddenly everything made sense, from the revulsion to food he normally loved to the fatigue he felt when not wanting to get out of bed for his morning run.

“I-”

“It’s okay. We’re going to check that in the bloodwork as well. Unless you want to take a urine test so we can know right now?”

All of this realization was coming in too fast for him, so he shook his head. He preferred to have at least a good chunk of time to think over this possible pregnancy. “Blood is fine.”

“Alright,” she smiled. “A nurse will be in with you shortly to draw blood. After your results are done – give it half an hour or so – I’ll be back to share them. Good?”

Not good. Not when he was just beginning to think of how this baby was going to change their future for good, and all the emotions were coming at him fast. He had wanted to have a family of his own since as long as he could remember, but he never thought it would be _now_. Didn’t they have to be married first at least?

“All good,” he said softly as she closed the door behind her.

✧

“I’m pregnant,” Harry said to himself as he walked home. That was all he could think about since the doctor read aloud the results, and a thousand questions swirled in his mind. They were able to take a sonogram, and hear the heartbeat, and Harry still couldn’t believe it. He tenderly clutched the sonogram picture in his hoodie pocket though.

They had been dating for almost two years at this point, but it always felt like he had known Louis for longer. And well, he kind of did. He was well aware of who Louis was when he joined Manchester United at an early age and became one of their star players. Louis was also the reason Harry realized he liked boys in the first place, spending his little teen years with a crush on a football star. It wasn’t until he actually met Louis in person during an interview they had to film together that he realized just how strong that crush was. And he planned to keep it that way, but then as he started to see Louis more in public, he realized there was a mutual attraction there. And it blossomed into the most amazing relationship he ever had.

It was probably a bonus that Harry was one of the members of the biggest boyband in the world: Odyssey Moon. They had won the Grammy for Best New Artist years ago, and their world had been hectic ever since. Especially when two of his bandmates, Zayn and Liam, decided to secretly date since the band was formed, which led him and Niall, his other bandmate, to witness some of their most disgustingly lovesick moments throughout the years. And once Zayn proposed to Liam after they officially came out to the public, Harry has been counting the days to their wedding ever since. At least Harry got his revenge when Louis came to visit him on tour, and he would snog him right in front of them, much to their chagrin.

And that was another thing. How could he have a baby when they’re supposed to go on tour next year? Their third album was coming out in December, and he knew there were already talks for their stadium tour next year. How on earth was he supposed to break it to the boys that he wasn’t going to be ready to tour by then? Because there was no way he was going to leave his child with nannies for the first year of their life. He wanted to be there as they weaned, took steps, grew out of their tiny clothing into bigger ones. Thankfully they spent the last few months already filming the music videos for the first two singles, and the first one was going to premiere in the next two weeks.

And Louis. He had to tell Louis. He was sure his boyfriend wanted it. They had discussed having kids before and judging by how well he was with his baby siblings, there was no doubt in Harry’s mind that Louis would be the perfect father to their kids. But this child wasn’t planned at all. Was Louis even ready to be a dad now?

All these questions played in his head as he finally reached the door of their townhouse, fishing out the key from his pocket when the door suddenly opened. Louis was standing there freshly showered, wearing some trackies and a red Adidas hoodie.

“Hello, darling,” Louis said as he pulled him in for a kiss. “Saw you walking up through the window and thought I’d open it for you instead. Don’t want you staying out in this cold for so long.”

“Thank you,” Harry smiled against his lips, kissing him again. No matter what cologne Louis had on, he always smelled so comforting, and Harry loved to rub his nose against his skin and inhale the solace.

“So,” Louis said as he walked them back inside, kicking the door closed.

“So?” Harry murmured.

Louis gestured for him to continue. “So? What did the doctor say? Was it just a stomach bug?”

“Oh,” Harry said. Suddenly he felt like standing in sweats in the middle of their foyer wasn’t the best place to tell Louis he was about to be a father, even if he had the sonogram picture right there. “Yeah,” he smiled. “Just have to stay hydrated.” Which wasn’t necessarily a lie.

“Alright,” Louis smiled, pecking him again. “Come on, I ordered some Chinese for lunch and that was the one food that didn’t make you throw up last week.”

“Okay,” Harry sighed as he followed him. “Let’s eat.” He’d find the perfect time to tell him. Just not yet.

✧

Harry hugged himself as he stared down from the viewing box, Zayn standing beside him. They were all invited to watch Manchester United play – well, Harry was always invited – but he made it a special event by bringing his bandmates along to watch this match from the VIP boxes. Paparazzi were extra excited to catch them walking into the stadium, with no doubt that their pictures will be splattered across the gossip rags the next day. At least it would give them some press for their single drop the following week.

“Louis is playing great tonight,” Zayn said as he sipped his beer.

Harry watched as his boyfriend ran along the field, smiling to himself over how proud he was of him. He knew how hard Louis worked to stay in shape, not only with exercise but also their diet. Which was especially hard when Louis was known to loathe “rabbit food” as he called it, but Harry helped him with that. Their cooking hours were some of the best at the start of their relationship, with both of them ending up messy and just snogging while something almost burned on the stove. They may have fallen in love in different places, but the kitchen was where it grew in more ways than one.

“He always is,” Harry grinned. He thought about the little one he was currently carrying in his stomach, wondering if they knew about the game and were also proud of their Daddy. Louis didn’t even know a special little fan was in attendance, and Harry knew he had to tell him soon enough, but in the past week that he had known, he just never found the right time. It didn’t feel right to just announce it out of nowhere.

“We have to meet with Jeff next week to discuss some of the promo for Orion,” Zayn said. Ah, one of their managers.

“I want to tour more in South America next year,” Niall said as he went up to them. “We only got maybe five cities in the entire continent. How ‘bout Peru? I’d like to take a day or two off to visit Machu Picchu.”

Harry winced as he thought about tour. He couldn’t help but feel guilty that he was going to be the reason they weren’t going to tour next year. Or if they did, it would be without him and he’d end up missing the biggest tour of their entire careers.

“Yeah,” Zayn agreed with a slow nod, pursing his lips. “We have to talk about what cities the tour managers can get us.”

“Goal!” Liam shouted as he stared at the screen. They all looked up to see a replay of Louis scoring. He looked so concentrated as he ran around the field at lightning speed and scored a hard goal, his face breaking into a grin as he ran back down while the crowd cheered. It was always an honor to watch Louis in his element, absolutely dominating the field with an icy stare that easily made other players buckle at the knees.

It made him wonder if their child will have that same love of football or end up looking like Bambi on the playing field, like Harry did whenever he would join him for a practice at Trafford Centre. For all their sakes, he thought with a smile, it would be best if they came out with Louis' hand/eye coordination. Even if he was still nervous about the entire thing, he knew deep down everything would be alright. Louis would be ecstatic with the news.

Now, if he could only find the perfect time to actually tell Louis.

✧

“Great game, lads!” Michael cheered.

The players decided to go out for drinks after their win at an exclusive club, and Harry was more than happy to tag along by Louis’ side. While some were off dancing with random girls they found, the married and/or happily attached set of players stayed at their tables and chatted. Mindful of his pregnancy, Harry ordered virgin margaritas while Louis nursed a Stella Artois, one hand on the bottle and the other around Harry’s waist.

“And cheers to Tommo for that superb goal!” Calvin said, raising his glass as the others followed.

“Awesome game, Louis,” Daniel began, “but I’m celebrating tonight for another reason. I think you’d like this news, Harry.”

“Oh?” Harry laughed. “Do tell.”

“Cindy is pregnant again,” he grinned. “She’s probably about two months along at most, but we’re just so excited. Regina is going to be an older sister!”

Cheers erupted as the men started to toast with congratulations. Harry remembered when Daniel brought his family to Trafford last year, and the little girl was eager to get into Harry’s arms once he made her laugh. Ever since then the team knew that Harry loved to be around children, with dads always giving their children to him when he was there. At one point, Harry was leading around a crew of ten kids with ages ranging from two to eight, keeping them entertained around the training centre. That’s why he couldn’t wait to have his own, and it looked like fate didn’t want him to wait either, judging from what he was secretly growing in his belly.

“Congrats, Dan,” Louis smiled, clicking their bottles together.

“We can’t wait to meet the new baby,” Harry smiled. He knew he needed to get a gift basket to send Cindy within the next month.

“How about you, Tommo?”

“Hm?”

“Yeah you and Harry,” Calvin said. “When am I getting my little godchildren?”

Harry tried to school his face, hoping his eyes didn’t get too wide as his heart rate sped up. It suddenly felt like those early interviews he did while he was still closeted, the panic slowly beginning to stir inside him.

“Oh no,” Louis laughed, looking over at him. “Not for a long time. Harry has to tour the new album coming out soon and I don’t think we have time for a kid. Right, babe?”

Well, Harry couldn’t be blamed for not telling him right then. There was no way he was going to announce he was pregnant with their child in the middle of a club. It also made him want to cry, because Louis clearly did not want children right now, but one was coming whether he liked it or not. It just felt like a mess. And that’s when Harry remembered the lyric from the song he wrote for him: _“kids in the kitchen listen to dancehall.”_ Maybe Harry had inadvertently manifested the baby, but he didn’t expect it to come true that quick. Looks like fate had other plans, and it included making it hard to even tell Louis he was going to be a father.

“Right,” Harry said easily. “So what color are you going to paint the nursery, Daniel? I’d suggest a nice ducky yellow for the walls and a green trim to accentuate it.”

✧

The next week, they were back at their home in Cheshire, with Louis spending most of the day at the training facility while Harry stayed home. It seemed like as soon as he knew he was pregnant, all his symptoms seemed to stop. Like the little nugget was only making themselves known for the fun of it and _now_ wanted to rest. They definitely had Louis’ personality already.

After an hour or two of phone meetings with the band’s managers, Harry decided to change into some comfortable sweats, like a yellow long sleeve that was baggy around the waist. He noticed his bump was growing in the last few weeks, but hopefully it wouldn’t get too noticeable by the time he told Louis. He hated to think his stomach would be the one telling him he was going to be a dad. But the thought of having a very pronounced bump by the time album promo came around also made him smile.

Harry had ordered some prenatal vitamins online that he already started to take, hiding the bottle amongst his clothes so Louis wouldn’t see it, right next to the sonogram picture. He plopped some in his mouth before getting his duster and cleaning the surfaces around the house, loving how it kept his mind off things. Like how he was going to tell his bandmates that he was expecting.

He made himself a small salad for lunch, sending off a few cute text messages that he knew Louis would get to read in between his practices. And once he started to panic about not telling him, he found something else to busy himself with: exercise. In order to help with his pregnancy, he decided to add some prenatal yoga to his workout routine, and that’s exactly what he wanted to do as he walked to their home gym. He liked boozing as a way to destress in his usual workouts, but he thought that would be too intense for now. So he threw on a YouTube workout video that danced along to Odyssey Moon’s music, and smiled as he sang along to himself and the other boys while he followed the movements from the instructor.

_“Cause you’re the only one that’s taking me, home! Can’t wait to get in my zone! Who said we gotta go slow? Turn off the lights and watch my private show!"_

He remembered how much fun it was to film the music video for that single in Versailles. He was still in his flirting stages with Louis at that point, texting here and there when they had time. He ended up sending him a picture of himself in the courtesan costume that he and Zayn were fitted in for the shoot, sticking out one leg in particular to make it extra saucy. Louis later told him how he wanked himself off to that picture, and it still brought butterflies to his stomach.

Just as he finished the thirty-minute dance routine and he was about to start his yoga, the doorbell rang. Pausing his video, he went to the door and opened it. A cute square package sat on the ground, smiling as he bent to pick it up. He thought the package was for him - probably another bottle of vitamins he was still waiting to arrive - but he frowned once he realized the label was addressed to Louis. Well he wasn't going to open it, but he read the return address to see where it came from.

“Johnson Jewelers?” he read aloud. Hm. Maybe Louis got him another ring for their anniversary. They had their date nights at the end of the month as usual, and more often than not Louis loved to give him jewelry that he could wear everywhere. There had been plenty of articles over the years speculating on the new ring Harry would flash next to his old ones, and while none were the engagement rings the public wanted them to be, they certainly had sentimental value with every piece he was gifted.

Setting the package aside, Harry decided tonight would be the night he would tell him. He’d order some food after Louis came home, they’d eat while Harry gave hints about his condition, then Harry would sit him down and tell him the news. The plan was foolproof.

So when he heard Louis come in through the front door later that night, Harry's heart started to flutter. “Lou?” he called out as he walked down the steps, stopping in his tracks as he realized what was happening.

Louis was shirtless, already stripping down his shorts until he was just in his pants, dirt streaks all over his exposed golden skin.

“Hi, love,” he grinned, dark marks over his face as well. “Sorry, but we had a field practice and it was just straight up mud while we ran about. I need to take a shower before I even get near you. Just so dirty,” he said as he threw off a sock.

Well, his baby daddy really was fit. Sure, he was covered in dirt, but that just somehow made him more handsome, like the roughness accentuated his sharp features. Maybe he didn't even need to shower. Harry could just lick him off with his tongue. He didn't realize he didn't even reply until Louis let out a laugh.

“Don’t tell me this turns you on?” Louis chuckled, eyeing the bulge in his yoga pants that Harry didn't feel until then.

And well, Harry really couldn’t be blamed for not telling him after that. Because as soon as Louis smirked while he proceeded to get fully naked, Harry ended up bent over a chair while his boyfriend railed him from behind. Which led to a marathon of sex for the remainder of the night, finally ending up taking a bath together before passing out on their bed after eating some granola bars. And as Harry woke up in a jolt around three in the morning, moaning as he realized he didn’t tell Louis again, he sighed as he went back to laying on Louis’ chest. He’d just have to try another night.

✧

While Louis was at practice the next day, Harry decided to visit his mum. He really needed someone to talk to about this pregnancy stuff, so if he couldn’t have the balls to tell Louis about it, he might as well talk to the one other person who knew him best.

“Hello, baby,” she smiled once he came to the door, looking warm in a red jumper with her hair up. “I love having you visit.”

“Love it too,” he grinned as one of her cats came to greet him, rubbing herself against his legs.

Once Anne brought tea over for him, Harry munched on some biscuits while his mum started to talk. “So what’s new, love?” she said as she brought her tea cup up to her face. “How’s Louis? Do you like living with him?”

“Amazing,” he smiled to himself with a sigh. “I love him so much, mum. Treats me so well.”

“Good,” she grinned. “That’s the least I expect for my youngest.” The first time Harry introduced Louis to his mother, he knew the other man was meant to be in his life. Anne treated him like a second son, already knowing him from his football fame and charity work but getting to know him as a person really did it. Gemma was a bit skeptical once she heard about their relationship, mainly because Harry had been saying he would remain celibate for the next five years after breaking up with his previous boyfriend, but quickly warmed up to the idea once he took her out to dinner with Louis. His family loving Louis was just the cherry on top to their already wonderful ice cream sundae of a relationship.

“And the new album coming along good?” Anne asked. “Mary was just telling me she saw an advert for it at Tesco’s the other day.”

Harry nodded. “We finished recording it over a month ago,” he explained. “And it’s ready to be released in December. We’re already planning all the shows and promo events we have to do, and the lead single comes out next week with the video we shot for it.” Harry had given Louis clues as to what it would look like, but he eagerly waited for his boyfriend to see the finished product on release day.

“So you’re going to be busy,” she nodded with a smile. “And I’m guessing a tour next year?”

Harry wanted to groan. “I think it’s in the plans,” he said slowly. “But I don’t know if it’ll happen.”

Anne frowned. “Why not?”

“Um-”

“Is something wrong with the band?”

“I’m pregnant.”

His mother’s jaw dropped. “I’m going to be a grandmother?”

Harry nodded with a smile as she started to get teary.

"Oh, baby!" She cried as he got up to go hug him. "My baby is having a baby!" Harry felt himself getting misty eyed in his mother’s arms, knowing he was about to add another bundle of joy to their small family.

“Have you told Louis?” she said after a few moments, patting his hair.

He shook his head. “I haven’t found the right moment. I’ve been trying to tell him but something always gets in the way or it doesn’t feel like the right time. And I’m due in March, so I have to tell him soon before I really start showing.”

“Ah,” she nodded as she kissed his forehead. “So this is why you think a tour won’t happen?”

“Not that I think,” Harry stressed. “But that I _know_. There’s no way I would be ready to tour after having my baby.”

“I see,” she nodded. “No. You need time off is what’s going to happen. You deserve to have a break to raise your child, baby. Have you told your bandmates?”

He shook his head. “I don’t feel right telling them when Louis doesn’t know.”

“And when do you plan to tell him? You said you’re going to start showing soon, love.”

“I thought there would be a moment that felt just right where I could tell him,” he sighed. “We have talked about having kids before, but I don’t know if he wants one now. Maybe he was thinking in a few years and doesn’t want to be a father yet. His teammates even asked him the other day when we were going to have kids, and he easily brushed it off by saying that won’t be for another few years because of work,” he exhaled, “so I don’t even know if he would want the baby right now.”

“As usual,” she said gently. “You’re getting so far ahead of yourself that you don’t even see the present. Just because he said ideally the children would come in the future, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want them now when it’s a surprise blessing. I think Louis is a wonderful man, and something tells me he’s going to be just as joyful as me – if not more – when you tell him.”

Harry knew his mother was right, but his anxiety still liked to imagine the worst possible situations regardless of logic. “You think so?”

“I know he loves you, and having a child with someone you love is one of the most beautiful things in the world. How could he not be over the moon about it when you tell him?”

Harry genuinely believed that. And he was kidding himself if he thought Louis wasn’t going to be pleased with being a dad. No, he had to tell him soon. “This time next week he’ll know,” he said firmly. He was determined to tell him by then.

✧

Release night had come, and Harry was waiting by his laptop as Louis rushed in to watch the premiere from their living room. The band had decided that “Fireproof” was going to be the lead single from Orion, with the music video taking place in space, like all their lead singles did in a nod to the astronomical theme of their album names.

_“I think I’m gonna lose my mind.”_

Harry smiled as he saw himself on screen, his skin painted in an iridescent rose gold color. The makeup department added two pink antennas to his head, which Harry instantly found a photo he took from that day – in a robe with his cute antennas and making a peace sign in the mirror while the crew did his face - and uploaded it to his Instagram as the music video played on. “Fireproof is out (of this world) now on all platforms. Stream away moon children.” And posted the picture.

The rest of the video had Liam and Niall as two astronauts on a ship that resembled something that came out of Star Trek, while Zayn and Harry were aliens on a far away planet. Each sang their lines as the cameras panned back and forth between the ship and the alien planet, until the end of the song when Liam is reunited with Zayn, showing that they were singing about each other the entire time while Harry and Niall clapped in the background.

“You make a cute alien,” Louis tittered once it ended. “I love the song.”

“Thank you,” Harry smiled as he puckered his lips, wordlessly asking for a kiss. And Louis obliged.

“Our children are going to be half alien, half human,” Louis said suddenly, “like whatever kind of children Alien Zayn and Liam are eventually going to make.”

Baby talk shouldn’t make Harry emotional, but he felt his eyes getting a bit wet at hearing Louis talk about it unprompted.

“You think about our kids?” Harry said, trying to keep the emotion from his voice.

“More than you know,” Louis said, kissing his cheek. “So when we both think it’s the right time, I can’t wait to have them with you, baby.”

With tears forming in his eyes, Harry knew it was the right time to tell him. In their own little world, basking in Louis’ warmth, it was the perfect time to tell him.

“Louis,” he started with a whisper.

“Yeah, baby?” Louis whispered back.

“I-”

Suddenly Britney Spears’ “Toxic” started to blast from somewhere, and Harry groaned as he realized it was his phone. He slowly pulled himself away from his boyfriend and swiped the screen.

“Harry!” Liam yelled.

“Isn’t the video amazing?” he could hear Zayn behind him. “Liam was so fucking sexy!”

And judging by the tone of their voices, they were clearly not sober.

“They drunk called you?” Louis laughed, pressing the button that put them on speaker phone. “Hi, lads!”

And while it was fun to have a group call with the boys to celebrate their single release, Harry still couldn’t help feeling resentful that his announcement was cut short. He was starting to think he would never find a time to tell Louis, and it just made him more frustrated. But looking at the way Louis looked at him when he laughed at something Niall said over the phone once he joined, Harry felt that resentment melt down to just mellow joy, calming his anxieties instantly. He really did have a good reason to call him “sunflower” in a song. So it didn’t matter when he told him. The baby was coming whether Louis knew it or not, and Harry just wanted to tell him already so they could celebrate together. For now, he was going to enjoy a new career feat with Louis by his side, and everything could still feel right.

✧

A few more days passed by, and it only made Harry more eager to tell him. Louis was coming back tired from practices, opting to sleep while using Harry as a little spoon or simply blowing off some steam with some late night sex. Not that Harry really minded - his hormones were already upping his libido more than usual - but he still wanted to find a quiet time to just tell him already before he accidentally blurted it out. To alleviate such stress during the day, Harry decided to do some painting while Louis was in training, mixing a combination of pinks and blues with his brushes as he followed a Bob Ross tutorial on his iPad.

After painting for about an hour, and thinking his painting looked pretty decent, his phone started to ring. He smiled once he realized who was calling. “Hi, babe.”

“Hi, love,” Louis said. Harry could hear him smiling through the phone. “What are you doing?”

“Just painting to relax my mind,” he said, twirling his paint brush in one of the water cups.

“That’s great,” he said. “But I’m calling for something else.”

“Hm?”

“I’m taking you out tonight,” he said. “So get all dolled up and pretty like you always do, and I’ll be there in an hour.”

Harry looked up at the clock on the wall. It was almost six, so he’d have to start getting ready soon. “You’re not going to get ready here?” he frowned.

“No, I can get ready after my workout here,” Louis explained. “You know I always have some outfits stored for emergencies.”

“Okay,” Harry said. He still didn’t see why he couldn’t just come home to change, but he wasn’t about to argue about that over the phone. He had a date to get ready for, and he wanted to look extra nice. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

“Great, baby. Love you,” Louis said.

Hearing him say that still brought butterflies to Harry’s stomach. Hopefully the baby felt that love too. “Love you.”

Harry quickly put his supplies away and untied his apron, making sure all the paints were closed before he walked into their room, looking through all his shirts until he found the one he wanted. He picked out a cream blouse with embroidered red hearts sewn into the fabric. It was a Valentine’s Day present from last year, in which Louis had gifted it the day before and Harry wore it for their very public date the next day. It was all over the tabloids over how loved up they looked spending the day of love in Paris, and Harry just loved to look at the pictures the paps got from that time. Especially when he remembered just how good they were in bed later that same night. So his hearts shirt was the perfect one to wear tonight when he told him. Not to mention how good his chest looked when with the buttons undone.

He took a quick shower, lathering up in a rose scented body wash he had bought the other day, admiring his body once he got out of the shower. He could already see the swell of his stomach becoming more prominent, and all he wanted to do was run naked to his boyfriend just to show him how cute his bump was. But no, he wanted to tell him in a calm, romantic setting tonight, and that’s how it was going to be.

After putting on a bit of tinted lip balm and some highlighter on his cheeks, he heard the front door open and Louis calling out to him. “Baby? Are you ready?”

With one final look in the mirror, dressed in his shirt and some black leggings (he didn’t feel like having something tight around his stomach), he walked out of the room and stood at the top of the stairs, putting a hand in the air as he posed. “Tada!” he grinned, seeing Louis stare up at him in awe.

“Wow,” Louis whistled as he watched him descend the stairs. “You really do look amazing.”

His boyfriend was wearing a blue suit, complete with a black turtleneck that just made his jawline and high cheekbones stand out even more than usual.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Harry laughed, leaning in to kiss him.

“Ready to go?” he whispered, kissing him again.

Harry nodded. “Where are we going?”

“Surprise,” Louis grinned.

Harry rolled his eyes, letting Louis lead him to the car once they turned off all the lights to the house. Wherever it was, he hoped it was the perfect place to tell him about the baby. It was going to happen tonight one way or another, so he wanted it as perfect as possible.

✧

“Are you ready for your album promo?”

The surprise ended up being the restaurant where they went on their first date. It was an upscale place near Manchester, complete with a lake that had a viewing pavilion where you could walk after eating to admire the wildlife or the scenic landscape. Harry remembered being so nervous the last time he was there, but now he was nervous for a completely different reason as he nibbled at his appetizer. They had just ordered their main dishes as Louis started to ask about his work.

Harry nodded. “Jeff and Steven said we’re going to be flying in for U.S promo for some primetime shows, and then we’re coming back here for Live Lounge and Graham Norton. I think they’re going to add more in January, but I think we’ll be done one to two weeks before Christmas then pick up after the new year.”

“That’s going to be fun,” Louis smiled. “Then you get to talk about me and all the songs I inspired.”

“How do you know I have songs about you?” Harry asked with a smirk, sipping on his lemonade.

“Because I’m your everything and I know I inspired at least one,” Louis grinned back, leaning over to steal a dinner roll from his hand.

More like an entire album, Harry wanted to say. There were songs that he wrote about him that he thought he would save for a solo project instead rather than give it to the band. But that was a thought for a later time, a time when he wasn’t currently carrying their child. “As if the media can’t get enough of us already,” he said with a playful eyeroll. He wondered how’d they be after this baby news broke.

“Can’t wait to hear it then,” Louis said with an eyebrow wag. As much as Harry wanted to show him the songs that he had written with the other boys, he wouldn’t let him hear it until the final product was done, which meant Louis would get to listen to the full album a week before it actually dropped.

“We finished filming the music video for the second single last month,” Harry said. It was just a simple one, really. For the second single of Orion, “Wolves”, they ended up just doing a massive bonfire at the beach and having them sing and dance around it. He particularly loved throwing sand at Liam and Zayn whenever they snuck a kiss offscreen. And with the success “Fireproof” was having in the charts- debuting in the top 10 for Billboard - it was clear this album was going to be very loved by fans and public alike.

Their dishes came, with the waiter wishing them well as Harry started to dig into his spaghetti. He was thankful the baby would let him eat whatever he wanted now, because he didn’t know how exactly he could explain to Louis that he still couldn’t eat his favorite foods. But hopefully there would be no more secrets after tonight, and Harry could finally go to bed with that weight lifted from his shoulders. All he wanted to do was be in Louis’ arms while they celebrated the new life growing in him.

“Remember when I brought you here the first time?” Louis asked as he stuck a broccoli in his mouth.

“Our first date,” Harry giggled. “I was so nervous. I knew it was a date but I didn’t know if _you_ thought it was like, a platonic dinner date or something.”

“Platonic?” Louis laughed. “I don’t think I could ever stay platonic with you, unless you wanted it.” He picked up a glass and brought it near his head. “A toast.”

Harry just noticed there was a champagne glass in front of him too, eyes going wide. As much as he liked alcohol, he knew he couldn’t drink it right then. Not when he was - secretly pregnant. He picked up the glass anyway, hoping he could pass it off without drinking any of it.

“Almost two years together, and I can’t believe I get to spend them with you. To many more years together, baby,” he said as he clinked their glasses together.

“Many more years,” Harry smiled, pretending to take a sip before quickly putting it down. Louis didn’t seem to notice, and Harry now felt the nerves starting to creep up more. He would tell him once they were done eating for sure.

They finished their meals pretty quickly, and decided to walk out on the balcony, leaning close to each other.. Harry was wrapped in a faux fur coat, feeling far warmer with Louis wrapping an arm around his waist as they looked up at the sky. The moon was in a crescent, just sitting there happily nestled amongst the stars.

“The stars are just beautiful tonight,” Harry whispered, rubbing his head against his boyfriend. “They look like the babies of the moon.”

“I guess,” Louis smiled. “The moon seems to have been very busy to birth all those thousands of stars.”

Harry started to think of how he could segway the conversation into talking about his own baby, but then Louis started to talk against his ear.

“Harry,” Louis began. “You know you own my entire heart right?”

“Of course,” Harry smiled. “Like you have mine.”

Louis took a deep breath. “The more I got to know you that one year, the more I knew you were going to be more than a fling and just turn out amazing in every way. Sleeping with you on New Years Eve was the best decision of my life, because it turned out you were the best thing to come into my life.”

Frowning slightly but still preening, Harry continued to bask in the praise. He was used to Louis going on about how much he loved him, and he never really got tired of it.

“You’re beautiful, you have a heart of gold, you just fit with me in every way. I don’t think I ever want to live a life without you next to me anymore. So I just want to ask one thing.”

Harry was confused now as Louis let go of his waist. “What-” He turned to see him on one knee, his hand holding out a ring.

“Will you marry me, Harry?”

And that got the floodworks going. He let out a cry as he held his stomach, vision becoming blurred with the tears. He should have been jumping with joy, but the pregnancy hormones just turned him into a bawling mess in less than a second.

“Woah, love,” Louis whispered as he stood up, eyes looking ever so worried. “If you’re not ready-”

“Not ready,” Harry sniffed. “Not ready? Louis, I love you more than I can say. How could I not want to marry you?”

“But you-”

“You have to know something before I accept.”

“What?” he frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m having your baby,” Harry sniffled, holding his breath for a reaction.

Louis’ eyes went wide, lips parting. “A baby?” he whispered.

Harry nodded.

“You’re-?” he reached out to place a hand on his stomach, Harry hoping he could feel the small bump.

“Yeah,” he whispered, wiping his eyes. “I’m due in March. Look.” He quickly pulled out the sonogram picture from his pocket, carefully putting it in Louis’ hand. As Louis grazed his fingers over the paper, Harry watched as the other man studied it carefully, a softness in his eyes.

“So we’re going to be parents?” Louis whispered.

Harry nodded as he closed his eyes, feeling Louis’ arms wrap around him. “My baby,” Louis whispered against his hair. “You’re even more beautiful to me now. How long have you known?”

“Since that day I went to the doctors,” Harry smiled sheepishly. “They did a blood test and it turned out I was nauseous due to the pregnancy.”

“Since then?” Louis gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried!” Harry stressed. “I just - I wanted to find the perfect time to tell you. But every time I thought it would be a good time, something else came up and I ended up forgetting until it was too late or people interrupted us. And I didn’t know whether you would be happy to be a dad so soon. After you told your teammates we wouldn’t have kids for another five years at least I thought that meant you didn’t want any now!”

“Oh, babe,” Louis chuckled. “I only said that because I know you would be busy for the next two years and wouldn’t have time to have a baby. Do you really think I wouldn’t be excited over your You could have told me at any time. I know this,” he grazed a hand over his stomach again, “wasn’t planned, but I’m still so happy over it. We’re going to have a baby in a few months, made by you and me. If you got pregnant last year I would still be just as happy as if we were dating for ten years.”

And that’s when Harry felt all the stress from the past few weeks melting away instantly. “Really?” Harry giggled. He wondered what it would have been like if he had gotten pregnant right as he was on tour last year.

“Really,” Louis laughed, leaning over to kiss him. “And now we can start planning our wedding, too. Babies and weddings, look at us.”

“Call me old fashioned,” Harry laughed. “But I don’t want to be all swollen in my wedding outfit.”

“Yeah,” Louis chuckled. “We can get married after they’re born.”

“And the baby can be part of the ceremony,” Harry sighed. He already thought about what outfit they would put the baby in. Something peach toned for sure. With a flower crown over their head as someone carried them down the aisle. Probably Niall.

“Shit I haven’t given you the ring,” Louis cursed as he lifted the box again. “Your hand, love?”

Harry held it out while Louis slipped the ring on, raising his fingers to admire it. It had a beautiful white diamond set in the center of it, with a twisted silver band. “It’s gorgeous,” he said. “Thank you, babe.”

“Thank you for accepting,” he chuckled. “And to think you had my engagement present already baking before I even asked,” he said as he cradled his stomach again.

And as they looked up to the stars again, everything felt alright. Louis knew now, and he was just as happy as Harry was. There were only tears of happiness in Harry’s eyes as the night went on, to their walk around the lake, to the way they held hands while Louis drove them home while Harry admired his ring in the pale moonlight, to the way they fell in bed together as the night ended. Celebratory engagement sex left They ended their night in bed, as usual, with celebratory engagement sex leaving them both very satisfied as they slept in each other’s arms. Everything truly was okay.

✧

 **Louis:** _Good luck, baby xxx_

Harry sighed as he stepped through the doors of the office. A week had passed since Louis knew about the baby, and everything was perfect in their little world in Cheshire. But the real world came calling when Harry was ordered with the rest of the boys for some mandatory meetings in London, and Louis had to stay near Manchester for training. They were about to have a few meetings about touring for sure, and Harry knew that he had to bring up the fact that he was pregnant and needed a hiatus. He just dreaded thinking what the others would think, or how they would react. At least the little package – which had grown even bigger with a more pronounced bump that his baggy jumper could barely hide – was comforting enough while he waited. He walked into one of the rooms that had all glass windows overlooking the busy streets of London.

Zayn and Liam were already there, talking amongst themselves at the long table before they smiled up at Harry.

“Hey, Haz,” Zayn greeted while Liam waved.

“Hey,” he answered as he went to sit down across from them. “Where’s Niall?”

“Stuck in traffic,” Liam sighed, looking down at his phone. “He said he’s probably going to be late.”

“Ah,” Harry nodded. He thought it would be better to let Zayn and Liam know beforehand what he was going to say during the meeting, so with a deep breath he started to ease them in. “So, about the tour.”

“Yeah?” Zayn looked over.

“I- um. I don’t think I can do it next year.”

Liam glanced at his fiancé. “Why?”

“Because I’m pregnant,” Harry said with a small smile. “And Louis proposed to me last week.” His eyes shifted between the both of them, watching with relief as their faces went from total shock to genuine happiness.

“You’re engaged?” Zayn gasped. “And expecting?”

Harry nodded, extending his hand to show the ring. “Both unexpected,” he chuckled, “and both the reason I just can’t tour next year. I’m due in March, and I’m not going to be ready for a world tour in time that year. Can’t leave my baby like that.”

“Well I think a group hug is in order!” Liam declared while he took Zayn’s hand and went to crowd Harry’s head in a tight hug.

“Congrats, Haz,” Zayn whispered. “We’re so happy for you.”

Harry wanted to cry. “You’re not mad at me?”

“Mad?” Zayn laughed. “Why would we be mad you’re starting that family you always wanted?”

“Because I’m cutting into our tour schedule so suddenly?” Harry offered. Both of them were taking the news surprisingly well for getting news that their tour was basically cancelled.

Liam shook his head. “Actually,” he grinned. “This is exactly what we needed.”

“What?” Harry frowned.

“We were worried coming into this meeting too,” Zayn explained, taking Liam’s hand, threading their fingers together. “We wanted to get married next year, in a massive wedding. Like, at least two hundred guests and all that. But we knew tour was coming up and we wouldn’t have the time to plan and let alone have it.”

“So now your baby gives us at least a year or two off,” Liam laughed, “and we get to do it!”

“Well now I’m relieved,” Harry laughed. “I thought you would all be mad at me for postponing the tour.”

“Are you kidding?” Zayn said. “Even if we didn’t have plans for next year, we still would have waited for you to be ready to tour, Haz. We couldn’t go on without you.”

Harry drew them in for one more hug, holding them tightly. He knew he gained brothers when he joined the band years ago, but it was moments like these where he was able to see just how important their bond was.

“What’s the group hug for?” came an Irish voice, and they all turned to see Niall walked in as he put down his backpack.

“Tour is being postponed, Ni,” Liam explained.

“What?” he frowned. “What happened?”

“Well,” Zayn began, “Harry’s expecting a baby and just got engaged, and Liam and I want to get married next year. So we think it best to postpone the entire tour until we’re all ready.”

Niall stood there for a moment, taking it all in. “Well it’s not like I can tour without you three,” he chuckled. “Make room and give me a hug as well. All abandoners you are.”

They all opened their arms and got in a group hug, swaying around for a bit in silence. “Congrats, Haz,” Niall said, kissing his cheek. “Niall is a wonderful gender-neutral name, if you’re in need of one.”

“Thanks,” Harry laughed. “But I think we might go with something else. You’re all going to be uncles anyway.”

“Alright,” Niall said with an eye roll.

They heard people walking into the room behind them, realizing their meeting was about to start.

“Shit,” Harry whispered.

“Hey,” Liam whispered back. “We’re a team remember? They can’t force just Niall to go on tour when the rest of the band isn’t ready.”

Harry nodded.

“Can you imagine Niall trying my high notes by himself?” Zayn smirked.

The group erupted into laughs as Niall pretended to smack him, and they all turned around to get to their own seats. Harry knew their managers weren’t going to be too pleased with having to cancel their tour, but knowing all the boys supported the decision lifted that dark feeling that was gnawing in his gut. He could spend the rest of his pregnancy worry free

✧

The end of November came around and Harry found himself setting up a large Christmas tree in their mansion one night. He was wearing a Santa hat and a red tee that stretched across his bump, loving how he looked whenever he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. Louis had helped me set up the tree, but when his fiancé – he really loved referring to him like that – had to take a call in another room, Harry decided he was going to decorate the top of the tree himself. Well not the top of the tree, just the middle section where his arms just couldn’t reach from the ground. So while Dean Martin’s “Marshmallow World” was playing over the speakers and their fireplace was crackling in the background, Harry carefully made his way up the large ladder with a box of ornaments in one arm, content with hanging each one on a branch once he reached the top.

With their album releasing next week, Harry thought he would be just as nervous as he was during their previous release weeks. He wanted everything to be perfect, and hoped their fans would love the album just as much as they loved making it. Since the Latin market was booming as well, they even asked Colombian singer Maluma to be featured on one of their tracks that Liam wrote. They decided that would be the third or fourth single from the album, and they decided to film the music video for it once Harry had given birth. With no tour to plan for a while, they would be able to meet here and there to get their album plans moving.

And since it was a week until release, Harry thought now would be the perfect time for Louis to actually listen to the album.

“Hey, Rapunzel?” he heard a voice from below, looking down to see Louis standing there with his hands on his hips, Santa hat tilted just to the side of his head.

“Yes, my prince?” Harry asked sweetly, leaving a snowman ornament on a branch.

“Would you kindly get down from the ladder I specifically asked you not to climb?” Louis huffed.

“If you need something at the top of the tree I can easily do it, like we agreed.”

“But I’m fine-”

“You’re carrying a baby, Haz,” Louis said. “One bad fall and… come on. I don’t want to think about it.”

Harry sighed with a pout. “Fine.” He left the box on the top rung and carefully made his way down, which was probably five steps at most, and happily fell into Louis’ waiting arms. “Hi,” he said, leaning over to kiss him.

“Hi, baby,” Louis giggled, running his hand over the bump between them. “Carrying my baby.”

“And they’re treating my bladder like a football,” Harry sighed with a smile.

“I’m sorry,” Louis said as he peppered his face with kisses, “but the baby will be just like their daddy and already using those kicking legs.”

“Yeah,” Harry giggled. “I guess.”

“So do you want to keep decorating?” Louis asked as he looked up at the tree. “There’s still a lot more ornaments to put up, babe.”

“Actually,” Harry said slowly. “Do you- um. Do you want to listen to the album now?”

Louis turned and smiled wide. “I thought you’d never ask, love.”

Harry grinned and walked over to one of his bags he had laying around on a table, fishing out one of the albums. Once he got it playing, he did a brisk walk to the couch where Louis had installed himself, and laid on his chest after he got comfortable.

They went track by track, with “Fireproof” being the opening song. The rest of the songs flowed along as well, with “On the Loose” being Harry’s favorite of the ones that Niall wrote. Even though it was a slower song with a darker theme, he also loved Zayn’s “Good Guy”, which had a sample from a Nancy Sinatra song that they managed to clear. “There You Are” was a happier song that Zayn and Liam wrote together, which Harry had been looking forward to performing live. “No More Sad Songs” was one they all penned together as a fun track, with Liam carrying the chorus of it. More tracks continued to play, with Harry feeling Louis bop his head to the rhythm once in a while. But Harry could feel himself holding his breath in once Watermelon Sugar came on, and then a few songs later “Sunflower, Vol. 6” played as well. Then the album ended with “Touch”, another fun one that they all wrote on together.

“How’d you like it?” Harry asked after it ended.

“I’m guessing Sunflower is about me?” Louis asked with a smile, a faint blush to his cheeks. “Never had a fucking poem writing about me before, baby. That kiss in the kitchen line reminds me of last year, me distracting you while you cooked.”

Harry nodded. “You’re like my first real love, Lou, and like my literal sun. Everything of that song seemed fitting”

Louis nodded in agreement as he kissed the back of his hand. “What’s the volume six for? Are there five volumes before it?”

“No,” Harry giggled. “I just thought it sounded nice.”

“There was another line though,” Louis frowned as he tried to remember. “Kids in the kitchen listening to dancehall? You must have written that before you got pregnant right?”

“Yeah,” Harry sighed, reaching over to put their hands together. “I’ve been thinking of having kids with you for a while, so I wrote in a lyric about our future children. You know, at least three or four of them all running around our massive house creating loveable chaos. I just didn’t expect to get pregnant like, this year,” he giggled.

“I guess you manifested it, huh,” Louis laughed, hand grazing his bump again. “Well, I’m glad you did. We’re going to be parents in less than four months and all thanks to you.”

“You helped too,” Harry giggled, smiling as Louis leaned over to kiss him. They stayed like that for a while, just tenderly kissing as they breathed each other in.

“Does Watermelon Sugar happen to be about the day after we moved in together and fucked in the garden after your surprise picnic?” Louis said as he pulled away suddenly, lips looking so biteable.

Well, when Harry told the boys the story behind it, it was safe to say their faces were priceless. “Why ever would you think that?” he asked, trying to hide his smile.

“Because I specifically remember you bringing out watermelon flavored lube out of nowhere and just eating me out.”

Ah. That day really was wonderful. “And your cock tasted absolutely delicious before you fucked me,” Harry smirked. “All watermelon-y and slick.”

“I cannot believe you,” Louis giggled. “So you got a song out of that?”

“Yeah,” Harry shrugged, reaching a finger out to scratch at Louis’ scruff. “I was high on getting to live with you and it just felt tender. Making love in our home wherever we wanted.”

“Making love, huh?” Louis smiled wide, eyes crinkling. “You sap!”

“Lou!” Harry pouted. “Okay if you’re not going to appreciate my love song-” He made a move to get up.

“No no!” Louis continued to laugh, pinning him down to the couch. “I love it, and I love you. Thank you for loving me enough to make you want to write about it,” he said as he kissed his nose. “My talented baby.” He slowly began to kiss the rest of his face, from his closed eyelids to his flushed cheeks to his sensitive jaw. “My baby.”

Harry felt himself blush at the praise, loving that Louis was clearly happy with the songs.

“I’ll be blasting it during practice so the boys will learn all the lyrics,” Louis continued. “Make sure they all stream and love it just like I do.”

“You better,” Harry sighed with a giggle, still not opening his eyes. He was enjoying the feeling of Louis’ lips on him too much.

And as usual, their kissing always led to something more when they were alone. And with Harry’s pregnancy hormones driving him crazy for his fiance's cock, it didn’t take much for them to start making another baby right on that couch once Louis dimmed the lights. Having Louis rearrange his organs while it snowed outside was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

✧

“Is it on yet?” Louis said as he got under the covers and passed Harry a chocolate bar with some popcorn.

“Just starting,” Harry grinned as he snuggled into Louis’ arm, relaxing into the mountain of pillows behind them. It was the week after their album dropped, and after being done with promo as the Christmas season began, Harry was more than happy to be snuggled up in their mansion for a much needed break. His bump was even more prominent now, and Louis couldn’t get enough of it when he was home.

Orion was already topping the charts in multiple countries, with fans all over the world tweeting about how much they loved the songs. Harry liked going on twitter to see people singing along to Sunflower, Vol. 6 or Watermelon Sugar, which fans quickly figured out was about Louis once the writing credits were released.

Zayn and Liam had hosted a release party the night it dropped in their Hampshire mansion, with all of their friends and family attending before midnight arrived. While sitting in his lap, Harry watched as the album went live and they played the album through, singing along like it was bad karaoke. Even if Louis didn’t want to admit it, Harry could see the blush over his cheeks when Sunflower came on. And it didn’t help that he decided to whisper sweet nothings in his ear when Watermelon Sugar came on.

It was different from their last release party for Andromeda, their second album. Back then, Harry was still pining after Louis, and drunk dialed him during the large release party they held in Central London. Thankfully it wasn’t too embarrassing once he saw Louis was tweeting about the album the next day, but he was still mortified. What a change it was from that to now listening to their third album release while carrying his child. Harry liked to think he really won at life.

“My first guests of the night is probably a group that all of my audience is eager to meet,” Graham paused as screams erupted from the crowd. “They have been on my show before so please welcome back: Odyssey Moon!”

All the boys entered the stage and sat down, with Graham asking them about their album and how the promo era was going. Even though they talked a bit about the songs, shows like those depending on funny soundbites, so they just talked about funny tour happenings from before or tweets Graham wanted to show them. Harry’s pregnancy was mentioned as well – being that he was sitting there with a full bump – and the audience clapped once he talked about the baby and his engagement, along with Zayn and Liam talking about their wedding.

Once the applause died down, Graham began to speak again. “And you Niall? Any babies or weddings in your future?”

“No,” Niall laughed. “I am planning to fall off the map in the next few months and just backpack around the world. I’ll be back in time for their weddings and the birth of my godchild.”

“Did you say he could be a godfather?” Louis laughed as he looked down at Harry.

“No,” Harry said with an eye roll. “He’s just -rightfully – assuming.”

“I guess the world knows that you’re carrying our child,” Louis sighed, kissing his forehead.

“As if you’re not preening,” Harry laughed, sitting up a little to look at him as the interview continued to play on the screen. “You love that I look so claimed with my bump. I’m a walking ‘Louis Tomlinson Owns This’ sign.”

“And how can I not be just a little possessive when you look like this,” he gestured to his whole body, “everyday? When I know millions around the world want you for their own?”

“And you don’t think people want you?” Harry laughed. “How do I know my millionaire football star boyfriend is going to get tired of me and date one of the twinks that thirst after him?”

“Because you’re it for me, love,” Louis said as he leaned down to kiss him. “Always have been and always will be. Don’t think I could ever get tired of you. if I’m honest.”

“Me neither,” Harry sighed. “I’m so glad we met.”

“I’m literally the luckiest lad in the world,” Louis said. “You wrote songs about me, which will probably be singles, you’re carrying my baby, and I’m the only one you come home to.”

And with Louis’ hand cradling his larger bump, everything truly felt perfect right then.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all liked this! I do plan on finishing the much longer prequel to this where they meet, get to know each other, and start dating when Odyssey Moon's second album came out and Louis played in the World Cup. Soooo yell at me if you want that haha fic post [here](https://softfonds.tumblr.com/post/627518795178737664/want-you-more-than-a-melody-by-softfonds-12k).


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